India will soon gain an electronic toll collection system, which will run on satellite navigation technology and cover vehicles plying on highways across the nation due to Russia being keen on helping India implement Platon, an electronic system to collect toll from transporters for plying trucks on highways across the Russian Federation.

Details relating to the proposal may be discussed during the 19 annual India-Russia summit in New Delhi on Friday, as reported by DH.

Russia is ready to arrange the assembly of the devices if the Indian government finds the system suitable. The devices are placed on the trucks for tracking by satellites and electronic collection of toll, in India.

The Platon, which was introduced in Russia in 2015, is the most extensive electronic toll collection system in the world and it now covers over two million trucks – the ones with gross vehicle weight over 12 tons – plying on 50774 kilometres of federal highways.

When a truck having the on-board tracker plies on a federal highway in Russia, the Platon automatically determines its position using Global Positioning System (GPS). It keeps on updating the location data periodically and sends it to a data processing centre through cellular networks. The data for every 24-hour period is analysed, and the toll is calculated automatically and debited from the account of the transporters as the truck keeps moving.

The annual India-Russia summit will set the stage for Russia’s support in planning and administration of road infrastructure and road network management, transport policy, technologies and standards for the construction and operation of highways in India.